Percy Jackson One-Shots
by FreeformFay72
Summary: A collection of short scenes from Camp Halfblood and Camp Jupiter as well as some interactions with your favorite characters! Accepting prompts and characters!
1. Luck of the Draw

**AN: Hey, so, this is just a grouping of scenes that aren't with any of my stories. Anyway, enjoy these short stories. If you're confused about who Ethan is and what they're referring too, it's in Following a Legacy. I'll totally write scenes with characters of your choosing if you like! 3**

Chaira glared at me, "I do not like him, Ethan."

I shrugged, "Okay, it just seemed like it. He would be lucky."

"You're my half-brother, you have to say that."

"So, now you're sayin you do?"

She glared again, "Shut up, Ethan."

I grinned. It was my second week at camp, but my first week in the Tyche cabin. My moms cabin. Man, that was weird.

I flipped a coin, "So, Alice and Julia might be pranking us tonight."

"Wwwhyyy?"

"Well, apparently I get on Alice's nerves. Or maybe it was Julia's. I've got a plan to counteract whatever they do, but I thought I would warn you." I told her, shrugging. I had had a few battles with the girls while I was in the Hermes cabin. I was pretty lucky, and they were usually unlucky when it came to pranking me; the perks of being a child of Tyche. However, with the last prank ending the way it had…

Alice poked her head in. She had that mischievous grin, and her blonde hair was loose around her shoulders. "Settled in?"

I waved and shrugged, "Settled as I can with what I've got."

She nodded, glancing at Chiara.

Chiara watched the daughter of Hermes warily.

"Well, I just thought I'd see if you're settled in."

"You mean you came to see which bunk was mine." I corrected, grinning, "But I'll make sure to switch before lights out."

Her grin grew, but her eyes narrowed. "Sure you will."

"Oh, I will."

"So, it's on?"

"It is so on."

She nodded slowly, "I'll tell Julia. She'll be excited."

The way she said that made it sound like she herself was disappointed.

"Julia doesn't know?"

Chiara was hiding a smile for some reason.

"Well, we were going to back off since things get a little…extreme." Alice lied about the reason, but not that they were going to back off.

Weird.

Weirder that I could tell she was lying though.

"We did bring down the Hermes cabin." I conceded, trying to figure out why she would be disappointed. "Though, that was totally Julia's fault."

She snorted, "Cassie is in solitary confinement because of it, with the Apple of Discord lodged into her arm. My cabin is being rebuilt and summer is just around the corner. Any day more campers could come flooding in." She frowned at the floor.

I grabbed my numbered stones and put them in the bag, then held it out to Alice, "Draw one from the bag."

She looked wary, "Excuse me?"

"Draw a stone from the bag." I insisted, "Whatever one you draw out will be your lucky number."

She drew a stone from the bag and looked at the number, "How do you know it will be lucky?"

I smirked at her, "Because it's two. That number has always been lucky for me. It's natural for the world to have pairs. Opposites, matches, the balancing act of the world. Two is a good number."

"Your number." She said slowly.

I nodded, "Keep the stone. Give it back when you know it's brought you luck."

Julia appeared at the doorway and gave me a disgusted look, "Alice, Connor just got back. He cut off Cassie's arm and Will reattatched it. She's going to be okay. She should wake up soon."

Chiara pursed her lips, "Oh, I better get to the big house."

Alice nodded.

"Hey, I like Cassie. Let's see how she is." I shrugged and followed Alice out.

Alice glanced back at me, "It's two in the afternoon."

I grinned at her, "Told you, lucky number."

She gave me a soft smile, no mischief visible in her eyes, then she pulled ahead with Julia.

I stumbled a bit, my breath catching in my throat.

Lucky as I was, I didn't think I would ever be lucky enough to draw one of those smiles out of her again.

But I would certainly try.


	2. Cabin 10 Dilemma

**AN: Some Aphrodite Cabin fun, anyone? Let me know if there's anything you want to see!**

"Lacy!"

I looked up at Mitchell, wondering what he was so excited about.

He bounced in place, "Fall Out Boy is playing in New York in a couple months!"

I grinned, "Are you serious? I love them! Patrick Stump is in my top ten singers!"

"Right?! We have to go!"

I sighed, "I don't think we'll be able too. We'd need an adult to take us and we'd have to buy tickets…I don't have any spare money. Do you?"

He rubbed his neck, "No, I just spent my last on my shoes. It'll be another two months before I get my next bit of money. It won't be in time for the concert."

I waved my hand in a 'there you go' gesture, "And I spent most of mine on hair dyes."

He arched an eyebrow, "Hair dyes?"

I grinned and pulled them out, "Oh yeah, I'm finally going to get back at Cecil."

Mitchell folded his arms, "And you weren't going to invite me?"

I held up the pink and the purple with a grin, "Which do you think we should use?"

He grinned back.

—

"Aaaugghh! It's not coming out, Lacy!"

I winced, "It looks good on you." I tried.

Mitchell looked over at me, his now purple hair hanging in his eyes, "It totally clashes with all of my favorite outfits!"

"So, we'll dye it a different color? I'm sorry. It's not like I meant for this to happen. It was supposed to be a prank on Cecil, not Connor. And we definitely weren't supposed to get caught."

Mitchell sighed, "What colors do you have?"

"Blue, red, pink and green. I also have bleach, oh, and black."

Mitchell folded his arms, frowning.

I bit my lip, "Come on, Mitch, you can pull pretty much everything off."

"Fine, let's go blue. But we're going with a real blue." He arched an eyebrow.

I grinned, "Only if you let me cut your hair as well."

He smiled back, "Alright. Just don't mess up like you did with the prank."

"You helped!"

—

Piper leaned over to me, "Magic hair dye?"

"Nope." I grinned.

Mitchell had about four girls and a couple guys around him, flirting with him. He had a calm demeanor and didn't seem to notice that they were flirting. But I knew he did.

"When he's comfortable with how he looks and as confident as he is, he just sort of radiates attraction." I told her, shrugging, "Who would have thought he'd like having blue hair so much?"

She smiled, "The big question is who does he want to attract?"

"Eh, I'm not sure. His sexuality is somewhat ambiguous. At least, that's how he comes across." I suddenly noticed Julia watching from a little bit of a distance. I could also see One of the Ares guys staring at Mitchell with some confusion. "And he tends to bring out the ambiguity in others as well when he's like this."

Piper pointed toward Alice from the Hermes cabin, who was talking with Ethan Jacobs from the Tyche cabin, "Thoughts on that?"

I grinned, "Cute pairing. Not sure how long it would last though. All the luck is on his side, though. And luck eventually runs out."

"And Alice has a lot of growing to do." Cassie Dellaro from the Hermes cabin said, "You should really check who's around before you talk about them. Never know who could be listening. Don't worry. I won't say anything."

Piper laughed, "You have good timing."

I studied the daughter of Hermes. She had a decent sense of style, even with just her camp clothes. She dressed practically, but in a cute way. And her budding relationship with the serious son of Athena was adorable in so many ways. And she had connections. She was already making a name for herself as the camp secret keeper. A child of Aphrodite could appreciate someone who understood the importance of secrets.

Cassie shrugged, "I keep hearing that. Frankly, I'm just ready for the calm of summer."

"Who do you think would be right for Mitchell?" I asked, wondering if she was any good at matchmaking.

She shrugged again, smiling, "I don't know. I haven't really been around Mitchell. Or many people here, for that matter. The trip I took kind of delayed making connections with many people outside of my cabin. Right now, I'm an observer in a complicated web of people and chaos…" She trailed off, her gaze clouding.

Piper nudged her, "You okay?"

She looked a little startled, "Yeah, I just had an idea."

"An idea? Like for a match for Mitchell?" I grinned at her, my eyebrows bouncing twice.

Cassie shook her head, "Like I said, I don't know him. I don't even know…his type." She said carefully. "My idea was for just…writing. I'll see you guys around. Good luck with your brother."

Piper gave me a smile as Cassie walked away in something of a daze, "She's an odd girl. But she's right. We don't even know Mitchell's type. Does Mitchell even know?"

I laughed, "Not likely."


	3. Music to my Ears

My name is Stacy Krivkov.

My first day at camp, New York had record low temperatures and it was January. I was claimed when I was younger, but had managed to keep a low profile demigod wise and only ended up coming to camp because I seriously couldn't stand being alone anymore.

Honestly, I would have done it sooner if I hadn't kept getting lost.

Anyway, everyone believed me when I said I was a daughter of Apollo. Probably helped that I was so nervous that I kept humming the Scooby-Doo theme song and sending that poor satyr in the house into a sort of trance. I never could figure out why the Scooby-Doo theme song seemed to do that to nature spirits.

Anyway, I ended up in the right cabin. From there on out it was…well, sort of boring. I mean, there were people! But making friends is easier for some and harder for others. Me, I've always been an open book. I've got this obsession with keeping my life as truthful and honest as possible. I blame the fact that sometimes my father is attributed as being the god of Truth. Like, seriously, pick a subject and stick with it. My God.

Cassie Dellaro—a daughter of Hermes—was the first to test the limits of my honesty. But she really wasn't pushy about it. She was sneaky. When she pushed me into a place of lies, she would then change the subject. But she still had a way of just getting me to blurt out my secrets.

Anyway, she quickly became my best friend at camp. Even helped me and Vince get together.

Which is how it came to pass that Vince, son of Ares, was listening to me and Austin play a bluesy duet.

Austin stopped again, "You're flat."

"No, I'm not. The chord progression just isn't right. I told you, I have to play around with this part a bit and fix it. Let me do my thing." I argued.

Kayla snickered, "Yeah, Austin, stop being such a control freak."

Vince grunted, "is this a regular occurrence?"

Will sighed, "Actually, our cabin took a pretty big hit in numbers with the last four or five battles, so it's been a while since we've had two virtuosos in the cabin. Haven't since Peggy…"

Vince nodded, "Ah, yeah, Preggers Peggy."

"Vince!" I squeaked.

Austin snorted, "I thought our cabin was the only one that called her that."

"Dude, it was so obvious why she left." Vince shook his head.

I played a dissonant chord.

My cabin cringed and Vince's lip curled.

"I don't think that was right." My boyfriend said. "I thought you were supposed to be like a virtuoso? Don't you know that doesn't sound right?"

I could have lovingly slapped his face.

"Let's try it one more time." I heard my voice go to that sickeningly sweet tone that I used to use on my stepfather. Whoops. Sorry, not sorry.

Austin sighed and put his saxophone to his lips.

"One, two, three,"

We started playing.

This time I put everything I had into it.

Austin rose to the occasion.

When we finished, Will was the only one who was partially coherent, and even then, he was acting terribly slow. Even Chiron was in a daze.

Austin and I did the logical thing.

We decided to pull a Hermes cabin and set everyone up for pranks. Then we climbed onto the roof of the Demeter cabin with ice cream sundaes and talked cord progressions while Will absentmindedly waved his hand in front of his boyfriend's face.

Cassie appeared beneath us, hands spread in a clueless gesture, "What happened?"

Austin and I stared at her, then at each other.

"Where were you?"

She shrugged, "I went off to get some alone time. Had my headphones in so I thought I missed the conch horn blowing for lunch…but…" She gestured around.

I glanced nervously at Austin, then held up the ice cream supplies next to me, "Ice cream sundae?"

Her eyes narrowed, "What did you two do?"

"We played with a little too much soul." Austin offered with a cautious smile.

Cassie climbed up next to me, "Fine, but I want extra chocolate. And you better have pinned this on someone other than my cabin."

"Oh, don't worry about that. It's so extensive that everyone will probably assume it was done by Hermes himself. Which is why we totally dedicated this elaborate, Apollo sent opportunity of pranking to him and have now worked him into the title of our song. Respect where it's due, right?" I tried one of my winning smiles.

Cassie just shook her head, "This place is so messed up. Make that triple chocolate."

"Coming right up." Austin said, helping me make it.

Then we sat back to watch the sunset while Austin played soft jazz and we waited for utter chaos.

Vince didn't ever figure out that it was me that made all of his clothes pink with purple hearts all over.


	4. Old Friends

Grover carefully lit the candles and stood back, "That, is a proper candle lit dinner for two."

Percy just gaped, "G-man, you're the best."

Grover shrugged, giving his best friend a sheepish smile. "Well, you and Annabeth will be in New Rome in the fall. So after tonight you two owe me some time."

"If his lordship can spare some time." Percy teased.

Grover cringed, "I'm not joking, Percy. This might be the last real chance we get to hang out. I'm going to that Northpoint place in August with a few others to look over some…plans…and then it's back to my duties. And you two will be in New Rome and busy with school and each other and you'll forget all about me and then one day you'll see a picture and not be able to remember my name, and—"

"Whoa, nobody is going to forget you, G-man. How could we? You're my best friend an you've saved both of our lives. You're going to protect my kids someday."

Grover sniffled, "I suppose that's true."

"Besides, it's not like you're forbidden from coming to New Rome and I'll definitely be back here. My mom and Paul are still here. And Calli."

Grover smiled a bit at the thought of Percy's baby sister, Calliope Lane Blofis. "True. She's definitely something to come back for."

Percy nodded, "Yeah. It sucks that I'm going to miss some things. I'm a little worried that she won't remember me when I come back."

"Are you kidding? You're going to be Iris Messaging your mom all the time and there are pictures of you. You're going to be the coolest big brother ever because you are older than her and you'll be takin her on trips to California and all that. Cutting boys who hurt her in half. Taking her swimming."

"Yeah, Paul will definitely be watching me carefully if I do take her swimming. He trusts me, he's just super protective of her." Percy was grinning. "He's going to be a great dad."

"Helps that he started with you." Grover said.

Percy laughed.

Grover looked at the table, "We're forgetting something."

Percy looked at the table as well, "Yeah, but I can't place what."

"Food, ya ninnies. Ya forgot food." Penelope, a daughter of Iris, pointed out. She was standing at the edge of the clearing, looking amused.

"Um, why are you in the forest alone?" Grover asked nervously.

"I'm not," She drawled, folding her arms, and then nodded behind her, "I'm out here with Ellis Wakefield. He's prolonging a fight with a monster and I didn't feel like getting killed because of it. Ya forgot food. It's sorta important for a dinner, especially a romantic one."

Grover and Percy exchanged sheepish glances and then murmured thanks.

Penelope smirked, then glanced back, "Good luck, boys." She walked away.

Percy ran a hand through his hair, "Feel like as much of an idiot as I do?"

"Yeah," Grover let out a nervous bleat, "I'll go raid the kitchen?"

"Nah, I'll try. You've already helped enough, G-man." Percy clapped his best friend on the shoulder.

"What are best friends for?"


	5. Clashing Rock

**AN: Solei Dragheart-Sorry about that, I put the name in. Random Guest-I will get to New Rome eventually and yes I will write a scene with a character if you submit one. I just need a name, cabin, age, background, and general appearance, preferred weapon. Anything else you want me to know. Yeah. Later.**

* * *

Everybody grumbled as they looked at the rock wall. This new problem wasn't going to be fixable by them. Who was Chiron trying to kid?

Connor looked at Annabeth, "Tell me you didn't say we could fix this."

She shook her head, "It isn't wise for us to even try. We shouldn't be anywhere near it. This is work for cyclops or gods. Not heroes."

Connor whistled and jerked his head to tell his campers to back up more, seeing that they were straying forward.

"Dude, I thought that monstrous statue did some damage." Percy shook his head, "If that thing breaks off like it's threatening to…"

"Boom!" Leo demonstrated with his hands.

Jason pushed up his glasses and peered up at the thing, "How was the crack noticed again?"

"Lava came through the crack and started falling like a curtain onto the campers that were climbing it." Connor folded his arms and looked up at it, worried. "Apollo cabin is working like crazy to heal them."

"Which campers?" Annabeth asked, her mind already analyzing the severity of the crack.

"Ares cabin; Sherman, Maureen, and Ellis. Plus the Satyr instructors that rescued them." Connor glanced back toward his cabin, "HEY! Get over here!"

He watched as Cecil and Cassie corralled the six other campers toward him, shaking his head. It would be his cabin that wanted to get a closer look. He would have to remind them that this was the dangerous part. And about death. Pain. How you're supposed to avoid it. Little stuff like that.

He bonked Cecil on the head, "Get some sense in there. You don't let campers get near dangerous things like a lava covered rock wall that could break at any second. You protect your cabin-mates. And for gods sakes, listen to Cassie."

Cassie smirked at Cecil, then started distracting the younger campers.

Annabeth shook her head, "Your cabin isn't the only one. My cabin is trying to figure out the logistics of whether we can support this and reinforce it, or if we can lessen the impact of the fall. Then what we're supposed to do with the rest."

"The big question is how did it break?" Piper shook her head, "And why does it look so awesome?"

Connor smiled.

She was right, it did look awesome. Like a water fountain, except with lava. If the piece did break of, it would look glorious.

Not climbable, but really cool.

Malcolm jogged over, "This is about to get bad. I can see more fissures in the rock opening. It's going to make a huge impact."

Annabeth gave him a questioning look.

"Dad was a geologist." He said simply, then pointed back at the rock wall, "We need to get everyone farther away from it and control the break."

"How do you suggest we do that?"

Malcolm fixed his gaze on Connor, "I'm going to need some firecrackers and some good archers."

Connor grinned, "I've got one of those."

"We know that." Annabeth rolled her eyes, "It would be the first day of the apocalypse if you didn't."

Connor handed over the firecrackers, "We'll evacuate the area more."

Percy nodded, "I'll get closer to the water." He gave Annabeth a kiss and jogged away.

It took two hours, and the landing of the rock wall piece set off the land mines around the Ares cabin.

Connor had told them not to place them so close to the cabin. He was just glad he wouldn't be held responsible for the destruction of the Ares Cabin.

And he was totally helping plan a party under the awesome new feature of camp.


	6. Counterstrike part 1

**AN: Meet Ria, a character submitted by Perseus Jackson007. Probably will see her again, she's fun to write. Hope you like her PJ007!**

* * *

Marianne—ugh did she hate that name—Dagris, Ria for short and because her name was so awful, looked around at her cabin with nothing short of despair. She had to stay with these idiots instead of the smart kids? The Athena cabin had been so cool! And she really loved being able to talk to Malcolm and some of the others about battle strategy. Now she was stuck amongst the rowdy and troublesome Hermes kids. Sure, they were strategically valuable when it came to battles, war, and war preparations. But living with them?

"I'll get you a welcome pack, that'll give you a spare shirt at least. Just tell Cassie what you don't have and she'll make sure you get everything that you need." The leader of the Hermes Cabin, Connor, stayed by the stairs.

"Cassie?"

"Me," One of the girls waved, "I"m Cassie."

"Ria," She answered, critically examining the girl who was coming toward her. She could easily overpower this Cassie, her left arm didn't seem to move. She could take advantage of the favoring of her right side and get a blow with her current weapon of a sledgehammer and the girl would be incapacitated.

Cassie gave a warm smile, "The only bunks taken are the ones that actually have pillows on them, so take your pick from the others."

Ria sighed and tossed her stuff onto a bunk, "When can I get out of this place and into a cooler cabin?"

"Considering we're the only ones with AC aside from the Hepheastus cabin, I'm pretty sure we are the cooler cabin," Cassie responded easily, "I understand your eagerness to be in a cabin that is geared more toward your own academic prowess and inclinations toward battle, however until you're claimed, you'll be staying here. It isn't so bad, and since you're over thirteen you shouldn't have to wait long before getting claimed. Until then, you have a place here."

Ria leaned her hammer against the bunk, "So you're the intelligence of the cabin?"

"I wouldn't say that." She tugged on her ponytail, "I'm more of a…mother hen with a high IQ. Besides, I have to be more intelligent in how I battle my opponents since my arm can become useless at any given time. Nerve damage. Don't think I didn't see you notice it."

Ria flinched, "Right." Maybe it wouldn't be so bad.

—~~—

Ria's claiming had been…bloody, to say the least. Lots of monsters.

But being claimed by Mars, at the Greek camp and receiving her spiked Hammer, an imperial gold weapon with a spike jutting out one face, perfectly flat on the other—maximum damage ability—was a little bit of a roller coaster. She thought for sure that she would be in the Athena cabin. Had even silently picked out her bunk.

Now she was sitting in the Aphrodite cabin, having to get her hair cut and styled because of some nasty stuff that got in it.

"Can I dye it?" Lacy asked, "I'm really good."

"No."

"Oh come on! You're going over to Camp Jupiter next week, they're no fun there. You might need something to brighten your day. You aren't too scared, are you?"

"Battle tactics are my life, your tactic is weak." Ria did find herself at least looking at the available colors, "I better still be able to get my hair out of my way."

Lacy examined her hair, "Not going to lie, it might be best if you get a pixie cut. Otherwise it's going to look a little…lopsided."

Ria curled her lip, "Great."

"But, on the bright side, I can make it short enough where shouldn't be in your way. And you can use headbands too." Lacy was going for positive.

Vince, Ria's half-brother on the Greek side, nudged her, "You have to say it's okay."

Ria groaned, "Fine, go ahead and do color too. Might serve as a tactical advantage if my hair is a distracting color."

"Sweet! You have coloring that works fantastically with any other color."

"Fine, just hurry. I have battle practice and I'm totally going to crush it." And them.

Lacy worked quickly, and got Ria out of the frilly cabin within half an hour.

Just in time for her to meet the rest of her cabin at the Arena.

She couldn't wait for a real fight.


	7. Counterstrike part 2

**AN: Okay...Ria might be getting her own series...**

* * *

Ria played with her earring, "See them yet?"

"Just spotted them," Cassie replied, waving from her spot on top of the bench. Then she hopped down. "They're on their way over. Got your bags?"

"Yeah. Why did we fly again?"

"We had to leave after the vans had, you because you were in the infirmary after fracturing your leg, me because I had to finish judging a competition. We both had to get here, and here we are." Cassie lifted her bag and put it on her left shoulder, then slid her right arm into the strap.

Favoring her left arm again, Ria noted, definitely sure that she could use it to a distinct advantage. Not that she needed to destroy the girl.

Not yet.

"How are your dreams?" Cassie asked, peeking through the crowd.

Ria sighed, "Fine."

Cassie nodded, then frowned, "Someone's behind us. Been following us since the layover in Texas. Don't look. We'll take care of it outside. The Romans have our weapons."

Ria nodded. That was one good thing about Cassie, she had a weirdo-radar. Like a sixth sense.

The romans reached them, introducing themselves as Andy Gallus (son of Ceres), Shelly McClintick (daughter of Apollo), and Jade Karrington (daughter of Mercury) all of the third cohort.

Cassie was friendly, but curt, and quickly moved everyone toward the exit, "We should get moving. I don't like being exposed and weaponless."

Andy nodded sharply, understanding the nod to the side that Cassie gave.

Ria started thinking about strategy for fighting this stalker. Grab her hammer, confront person/monster, attack, give the others time to grab their weapons. She was the youngest, but that would also make her less likely to be a threat in an enemy's mind, if that enemy wasn't a monster. She was also fast and strong. She was fairly certain she could take out an enemy on her own.

The got to the van, and Jade and Andy hopped into the front seats while Shelly handed Ria and Cassie their weapons.

Ria picked up her bag again.

Shelly got into the van.

That's when it blew up.

Ria and Cassie got pushed back by the blast, but they didn't have any time to think.

The person following them attacked.

Ria blocked his first blow, which would have hurt Cassie badly, and slid her hammer along the blade of his sword, and then twisted herself so that she could crush his wrist.

Elbow to the stomach, duck out of the way, turn to—

Ria fell to the ground, having tripped over the curb.

Cassie slid in with her tiny swords or knives or whatever they were, cutting the guy's other arm, then she did this spinning jump onto the hood of the car, sheathed her knives, and then leapt, using all of her weight behind her fist and knocked him on in the head. Following through with a kick to the head, to fully knock him out.

"Ria, get up." Cassie pulled her up with her good arm, "We have to get the others out of the van."

Ria cursed and they hurried to get the other demigods out or at least make sure that they were okay.

Cassie treated the cuts and burns as best she could, "We need to move. The police will think we caused this. Andy? You okay to drag that jerk?"

Andy nodded, and grabbed the guy.

"Ria, help Shelly. I've got Jade."

Ria put her arm around Shelly, supporting the older girl. How did the guy plant a bomb as well as follow them through airport? "Cassie—"

"I know. Couldn't have been in two places at once," Cassie interrupted, "We're still in trouble. Just keep moving. Andy, burner phone?"

He paused to pull it out and toss it to her.

"What are you doing? Cell phones are dangerous," Ria hissed.

"We need help. I'm calling Rome." Cassie glanced around, "There, head for that van."

"The minivan?"

"Yes."

Ria shook her head, she was starting to think it would be easier to fight whatever was about to happen.

They got to the van and Cassie managed to pick the lock, open it and unlock the other doors, "Get it. I've got to hotwire it."

"How do you know how to do that?"

"It's pretty much a crime to be a daughter of Hermes and not be able to pick locks and hotwire cars," Cassie replied distracted.

Ria helped Shelly and Jade into the van, then helped Andy haul their attacker into the van as well. It made sense now, to have gotten into the van, that she knew that Cassie could hotwire it. Their escape would be easier and they wouldn't be trying to run with four injured people.

"Frank, it's Cassie Dellaro. There was an incident. We've stolen a van and are—" The van lurched forward as Cassie whipped out of the parking space, "en route, but we could definitely use backup. Andy probably has a concussion, Shelly has some bad burns, as does Jade, who also has a pretty bad concussion. We have a prisoner."

Ria shook her head, their situation sounded crazy. There wasn't a plan she could make for this. It wasn't like fighting. She was running from the fight.

Not that her first fight since getting her new weapon had been especially grand. She had tripped, an eventuality she hadn't accounted for, and a mistake she wouldn't make again. Besides, her move of crushing the guy's wrist had allowed the older girl to knock him out without risk of getting stabbed. Cassie wasn't especially strong, and it had provided the proper distraction for her to calculate the exact way to knock the guy out.

It was strategically sound.

Though Ria really hated that she hadn't been the one to take the guy out.

"You have a cut on your leg." Cassie was driving with ferocity

"It'll heal," Ria grumbled, running a hand through her pixie cut. She didn't want to admit that she had made a mistake, tripping. She also didn't want to admit that she loved the way Lacy had done her hair. It looked like fire. The edges of her hair were red, then they became orange and gave way to yellow. And whatever that hair stuff was that she had been instructed to use left her hair all soft and fluffy.

Andy frowned out the back window, "Here's hoping Rome is fast in responding."


	8. Team 1

**AN: Another one in Rome. I wanted to get this out. Ria's probably going to get her own story and it will pick up where the last one left off. I had to fight myself to not write another one about Ria. What have you done to me? You know who you are. 3**

 **Promise there will be more action in the next one. I'm thinking a Hydra...**

Andy Gallus, son of Ceres, hurried toward the infirmary with the load of medical supplies from town. If he got back in time, he could be in the group that surveys the property they would be renovating for that girl. With his father's background in construction and his knowledge of structure it allowed him to go on many of the excursions out of camp to properties that they took back from monsters, which so far had amounted to two properties.

He stood as still as possible, a good soldier, as he waited for them to sign the paper saying they got the delivery.

Finally, the slow poke finished.

He did his best to not run back to New Rome, drop off the paper, and then back to the Field of Mars to try and get on the team going to the renovation property.

When he did, he was surprised to see the slight form of the graecus, Cassie, standing beside Reyna and Frank. Normally when Greeks visited they took on the role of either probatio or legionnaire, depending on the amount of time they had been training and their status at Camp Half-Blood. So what was the girl doing standing beside the praetors?

Andy fell into place with his cohort, standing at attention beside Shelly, "What's the graecus doing up there?"

"Her property we're looking at. If she were Roman, she would definitely be in the first or second cohort." Shelly rolled her eyes. "She isn't even strong, or a good fighter, but she's up there."

Andy frowned, "Saved our hides, though. If it hadn't been for her those rogue half-bloods would have killed us."

"Ria did more than she did." Shelly glanced down the line to the girl that had been accepted by their cohort.

"You just don't like her because she's up there," Andy whispered, "She got us out of there. She called backup for us. She got us here, and knocked out the guy who had attacked us in the first place. Yeah, Ria helped, but Ria also almost got killed when she tripped."

"You just think she's cute."

Andy rolled his eyes, "No, I don't." He thought she was beautiful, but he liked someone else.

"Really?"

"Why does it matter? Jealous?" He teased, trying to figure out what Shelly's problem was.

She scoffed, "Hardly."

Their cohort leader glared back at them.

"Lesbianhonest—" Jade hissed from Shelly's other side, quoting Pitch Perfect.

Andy snorted, then choked back his laughter.

Shelly turned bright red, "Shut up. That's so not what's going on."

As a daughter of Apollo, the got of truth, she was a terrible liar.

Andy's laughter died.

Jade's smile died, and she turned her face away.

"Andy, we'll need you on this trip." Reyna was assembling a group to go, oblivious to their whispers.

Andy stepped out of formation and joined the group that was forming.

It was a small group, their elite construction workers, meaning it was an honor to be picked for the team.

"You have the address, today we're assessing the situation. Cassie and I will go ahead, you all grab what you need to check things over and meet us there," Reyna instructed. She was all business, as if she didn't even notice that Cassie was standing there and chatting with Frank.

Andy nudged Paul, "Hey sparky."

"Woody. How's the new girl?"

"Ria? Fierce. Intelligent. Still looking for a good fight. The war games will help her, I think." Andy frowned, "She's different, that one. Rare weapon for a Roman. We'll see what the gods have in store for her."

"Shelly seemed to think she was amazing, didn't have much of an opinion on the Greek."

"Yeah…" Andy didn't think it was a wise choice to tell him that Shelly had a crush on the Greek girl. He also didn't think it was a good idea to tell anyone about the dream he had had last night about Ria, and a monster. A big monster.

Or the fact that he knew he would die to save her from it.


	9. Petunia

**AN: So, my computer is in the shop now so I actually lost the scene that was supposed to go up. Hopefully I won't have lost anything storywise (because I write actual stories, not just fan fiction and I haven't backed up my stuff in a couple months) but I also don't know when I'll actually get my computer back so for now you're going to get this shot. The vague request from a guest for a son of Nike on his way to camp was the one that I was working on, so hopefully I'll get my laptop back and it will be up soon. Going to make it difficult to write my other two stories. Ugh.**

 **So for now, meet Nia, who is also on her way to camp.**

* * *

Petunia stabbed and stabbed, even as the monster turned to green dust. Then she just knelt there and cried, too stressed to think about moving on. Going further. She didn't even know where she was going, and now her guide was dead. Her stupidly brave Satyr protector, dead about a mile back to try and give her time to get away from the creature.

She was afraid of what would happen if she went further, and if her father's warnings when she was young were anything to go by she wouldn't be getting any assistance from her mother, who viewed her as a mistake. Yeah, the stupid goddess had decided a little late that having a daughter was a bad idea.

Whoops.

Her father had refused to the very end to divulge the name of her mother.

Fantastic.

Grady, the satyr that just died, had said he had some ideas about who her mother might have been. Might be. But now he was dead.

And if Nia saw one more skeleton or zombie, she was going to just let it kill her. She would be screaming, but she would just stop fighting.

She finally looked up, right into a flower. Anemones, so deep a purple as if Aphrodites tears had just fallen to the earth.

She picked one, trying to remember what her books said about the meaning. Something about good luck...and protection against evil.

Gods knew she needed all the help she could get, so picked a second and tucked it into her shoe laces, then stood up and looked around. She had to get to this camp. She had to be close to that safe place that Grady had told her of. Her life had seemed to be looking up since she had met Grady. He had told her about the happy outcome from other half-bloods that he had brought to camp. A daughter of Demeter who was going to college in Minnesota. Two brothers, sons of Hermes, one of which was going to college in Michigan. The other which was a counselor at this camp that Grady was leading her to. Another daughter of Hermes. A son of Athena.

Overall, he had led twelve halfbloods safely to the camp.

So, logically, he died while bringing the thirteenth. On a friday. On the sixth day, of the sixth month, at 6 minutes past 6 in the morning.

And Nia's watch would forever remind her of that, having broken the moment he died as she hit the cement.

She started walking, taking a sort of eastern direction as her direction of choice. She had no idea where she was actually supposed to go, but she had to keep moving. Just like she had to keep moving, even after her father had died. Just like she had had to keep moving despite being put in that stupid foster home.

She picked some bell flowers as she passed them, even though they were just symbolic of unchanging love, honesty, and obedience. Her father used to tell her the story of Venus' looking glass, how the flowers were born of the shattering of her mirror when Cupid tried to retrieve it from a shepherd.

A sob escaped her as she tripped, aggravated the cuts, scrapes, and bruises. When she looked back on the path that she had chosen to take, she could see flowers ahead of her that hadn't been there before.

She limped forward until she got to the tree that the flowers had been by.

Queen Anne's Lace...but it was again about ten feet ahead of her.

Nia swallowed, despite feeling like she hadn't had a drink of water in eight years, and started limping forward again. Queen Anne's Lace...signifies complexity and delicateness...and is symbolic of...

She caught her breath as she leaned against an obliging sugar maple. She knew. She knew that she knew what the flowers symbolized. Why couldn't she remember?

A monster jumped at her from out of what seemed to be thin air.

She screamed and stabbed. And stabbed.

The monster screeched and dissipated.

Nia gagged, then pushed herself forward. She had to keep moving. She had to get to safety. For Grady. For her father. To prove to her mother that she wasn't a mistake. To live to an older age and open a flower shop, where she would make meaningful and gorgeous bouquets, and do floral arrangements for weddings. She might even dabble in edible flowers made of chocolate, or sugar, or maybe fruit. Frosting. Yogurt.

Then ahead of her, there was a bunch of Queen Anne's Lace.

And beyond that there were kids with weapons and armor, in a group formation.

She remembered what it symbolized, feeling like an idiot for not being able to remember.

Sanctuary.

* * *

 **AN: So, because I'm trying to keep these scene below 1,000 words, I'm going to do a second part to her story so we can see her in camp. This all is taking place while Ria...shoot. I just made Ria and Nia. Crap. I didn't mean to do that. Too late now.**


	10. Fire

Tristan Hale did the unthinkable. He cut one of the heads off of the hydra.

He cursed loudly, and ran. He just couldn't win today. First he finds out this morning that he was in all the way over in Vermont and not New York, then he runs into a hydra and ends up cutting off one of the heads before he had something to sear the necks.

He just wanted to get to the camp and crash in a bed. He was so tired.

And if he didn't get some sort of victory, his mother would never claim him.

The goddess of victory had children who were driven, who strove to win—at times completely disregarding the cost.

That's what had set him on the path toward camp. He had really messed things up at home. He had been so focused on winning that his half-brother had almost died. His dad had railed into him, they had a huge fight, and Tristan got the heck out of there before he hurt his other half-siblings.

If his step-mom had let them take swimming lessons, it wouldn't have been up to Tristan to make sure they didn't accidentally drown themselves despite the life-jackets, water wings, and various other flotation devices that she decked them out in.

He somersaulted forward, then launched himself to the side as he heard the hydra spit acid his way. He had to be getting close now.

If he wasn't, then he would have to come up with a seriously good plan to try and burn the hydra after cutting off all of the heads. Right now, all he had was a lighter that some drunk had dropped and a couple of tissues. That wouldn't be enough to fry the monster.

He let out a yelp as the acid just barely missed him again.

"Look, mom! That dog is attacking the kid!"

Great. Mortals.

At least this time they were sort of on his side.

He ran for all he was worth, down the street, still trying figure out where that truck had dropped him.

There! A sign.

Keeseville, New York.

Well, at least he was in the right state now.

And he was heading out of town, so hopefully it was the right direction. He'd have to find a map once he wasn't being chased by a multi-headed serpant-hound of death.

That's when things got weird.

He ran into this teenager.

Tall, brown hair, green eyes, lanky and freckled—the kid didn't look like much, especially in the clothes he was wearing.

But his sword said otherwise.

The teenager sliced off the head of the hydra, then chanted something and the creature turned into an inferno.

Tristan stared, not sure whether he should be impressed or scared.

A man appeared and held out a hand. "You alright?"

Tristan took the hand and got up. "Yeah, I'm fine. Just exhausted."

The teen examined him warily. "Are you a camper?"

"I…haven't made it to the camp yet. So I guess not. How far away am I?"

The teen looked disgusted. "Don't bother going. It's a place for people who want to blindly follow the gods. Only idiots go there."

"Where do you suggest then, because I've been out here for weeks and I'm tired. I just want to be safe." Tristan was starting to lose his patience.

"Alabaster, if you want people to listen to you you're going to have to given logical reasons for your beliefs." The man said.

Was that actually…

Why could he see through the man?

Alabaster saw him trying to figure it out and sighed. "He's kind of like a mistform. But with a consciousness."

"Right, because I know what that is. Look, I just want to get somewhere where I can sleep without getting attacked. So which way?"

"Depends on where we are," Alabaster said.

"Somewhere called Keeseville."

Alabaster and the man exchanged uneasy looks.

"How about we see you as far as the next town and point it out on a map for you?" the man offered.

Alabaster didn't look especially pleased with that answer.

Tristan rolled his eyes. "Fine, let's go."

"Or don't." A new voice said. A woman's voice.

They all turned, weapons ready (well, the man didn't have a weapon…).

She arched an eyebrow. "Please, I could have killed all of you if I wanted to. You want a safe place to sleep, you two want to get away from that town without going somewhere that bends to the whims of the gods. So come with me."

"Right, a perfect stranger," Alabaster snarled.

"Who knows who you are. Alabaster C. Torrington, most powerful child of Hecate currently. Doctor Howard Claymore, recently deceased and now a mistform. Tristan G. Hale, son of Nike, who is still haunted by the mistake his obsession caused him to make." Her blue eyes fixed on him, intense and yet understanding. "I run a place for misfits. People who have nowhere else to go, and who aren't ready for life at either of the camps. People like me, who are cursed and exiled. Granted, I wasn't exiled because of a war. I just mostly stayed out of that."

Alabaster's eyes widened slightly. "You were there…at every port we made. You were there."

Tristan didn't know what was going on.

She just smiled. "It great target practice. All those monsters in one place. I had a bit of a beef with a couple and they were hiding on the ship. I'm Allison by the way." She waved her hand and a portal opened behind her. "Tristan, we can prepare you for camp. Get you directly there without travel. You can even just sleep for the night and leave in the morning. It's up to you. Alabaster, Dr. Claymore, you both look like you could use a good nights sleep as well. If mistforms do sleep. The gods will never know you were there. They have no power there. It had to be that way."

Dr. Claymore looked like he wanted to agree.

Tristan stepped forward. "I can leave for the camp whenever?"

She nodded. "Of course. Until then you'll be in a cabin with a few other boys, three meals a day and only one scheduled activity."

"But it's safe."

"No monsters can get in," She said reassuringly.

Tristan nodded. "I'm in."

She nodded and looked at Alabaster.

"I can leave when I want?"

"I'll even put you and Dr. Claymore in your own cabin if you like." Allison shrugged a bit, like it didn't even matter.

"What's the catch?"

"No catch," She replied, looking worried. "Should there be a catch? I always thought you should just sort of help your fellow demigod."

"How do I know you're not just like Camp Half-blood?"

"You don't. Neither do I, really. I've never been. All I can tell you is that it's a community. Oh, there is a catch. You don't hurt my kids, and you do not reap strife. I will kick you out of my camp so fast and so hard that you'll reach the great wall of China in ten seconds flat. Got it?" She held out her hands.

Tristan took the one.

Alabaster grudgingly took the other, then did something with Dr. Claymore. "Got it."

She smiled, then jerked them back with her.

There was a sort of snap and the whole scenery changed.

"Welcome to Camp Northpoint."


	11. Petunia Part 2

Petunia licked her lips, twirling the stem of a bellflower between her fingers.

The halfblood that was escorting her to some place called the Big House kept glancing at her and looking a little...confused. The others had looked confused that she had stopped to pick flowers.

They didn't understand.

She didn't need them to understand.

"What was your name again?"

"Petunia. Nia for short."

"Right, well, how much do you know about who you are?"

"Everything. Well, except which goddess is my mom. Grady said he had his suspicions about who she is, but he never told me." She picked an Aster. Tiny beginnings from which great things proceed.

"And the flowers?"

"Every flower has a meaning, some from times of ancient Greece, and some more recent. Victorian ages were important times for flowers, the meanings were designated and fleshed out. I take flowers as signs. It's no different than people who believe that breaking a mirror is…" Huh…bellflowers were said to have been born from the shards of a broken mirror. "Bad example. But it's like stepping on the cracks, or black cats. It's my own personal superstition."

"You're superstitious?" He asked. She?

Petunia really wasn't sure and frankly she was afraid to ask. You never knew how sensitive people were. "Um, yeah. A little."

"What do you think is the most powerful flower?" What had s/he said their name was?

"I think it depends on the person. For me…rosemary. Not the flower, the herb. It means remembrance. There are others that are good as well, but that's always seemed most powerful for me."

"What about me? What would you say my flower or plant would be?"

"Lotus," Nia said, almost without thinking about it. "Flower of mystery, truth, purity, enlightenment, self-regeneration, and rebirth."

The halfblood looked at her with interest. "That's an interesting choice. Why'd you pick it?"

"Gut feeling," She shrugged. "You seem like a person who likes mystery. So, who's your parent?"

"Hebe, goddess of youth."

"And what was your name again?"

"Jamie," Jamie answered in a completely unhelpful way. He or she pointed to the house they were coming upon. "This is the Big House, I'll introduce you to Chiron. You said that your satyr died?"

"Grady, yeah. He was defending me. I should have protected him better." Nia tucked the flowers into her pocket. She felt nausious. If she had been stronger, Grady would be alive.

"They know the dangers of their job." Jamie put a hand on Nia's shoulder in a reassuring way. "I'm sure he thought you were worth the sacrifice."

"He'll have to be planted…" Nia said softly, looking at the ground. "I was still under attack when he died."

"I'll talk to Grover about a recovery mission." Jamie gently urged Nia on. "You're safe now and I'm sure you'll be claimed quickly. You give off some…pretty specific vibes."

"I do?" Nia's heart jumped.

"Yeah," Jamie shrugged. "I would say Demeter."

She knew it wasn't right. "Oh, I don't think so."

Jamie gave her a curious look. "So sure?"

"Yeah…I'm sure. It doesn't sound right." She rubbed her arms, then followed Jamie up the porch steps and into the house.

There was a man in the wheelchair sitting by a couch, talking to two teenage guys. The man looked young, but also impossibly old. His eyes tired looking.

The teenage boys, one tall and blond that looked like a surfer put on nurse's shirt and one short with dark hair.

The shorter one looked at her.

She took a step back, her heart starting to race. This place couldn't be safe.

He frowned. "You…don't…you…" He stepped back. "You're a daughter of…you shouldn't exist…"

Jamie put a protective hand on Nia's shoulder. "Nico, kind of takes one to know one."

"You don't understand." Nico looked nervous.

"Nico, she's unclaimed. Don't jump to conclusions. You're scaring her." The blond took Nico's hand.

"Mr. Di Angelo, if you have a theory, we can hear it but until she's claimed we have no reason to worry." The man in the wheelchair rolled himself forward. "What is your name?"

"Petunia Green," She answered, almost in a whisper.

"She's a daughter of Persephone." Nico's sentence seemed to make the light leave the room.

The man in the chair, he must have been Chiron, looked like he dreaded the very idea. "Let us pray you're wrong."


	12. Jamie

Jamie led the new girl, Petunia, to a bed in the Hermes' cabin. "They'll take care of you here. You okay? Nico was kind of intense."

"Are you sure I'm safe here?" the girl asked in a whisper. She looked haunted, and if Nico was right, there was good reason to believe that she actually had been haunted.

"We'll keep you safe. Nico too. He's a good kid." Jamie looked down at the flowers tucked into Nia's shoelaces. "What kind of flowers are those?"

"Anemones, for good luck and protection against evil. Said to have been made by the falling of Aphrodite's tears."

"Earlier you said that a broken mirror was a bad example of superstition?"

"Bellflowers were born from a broken mirror, I believe that was Venus's mirror. I can't remember right now." She sat down, exhausted, on the bunk.

Jamie glanced at the Hermes' girls. "You should try to rest. Just, word to the wise, keep things you value extra close to you. If it goes missing, tell Connor. He's your cabin leader. Cassie Dellaro is also someone you can trust, but she's in New Rome right now. I have to get back to my cabin."

Nia nodded, then held out a flower.

Jamie hesitated then took it. "What is it?"

"It's just an aster. It symbolizes tiny beginnings from which great things proceed."

Jamie straightened up. "Like meeting someone new?"

She nodded.

"Okay. Seriously, try to get some rest. I'll find you later and answer any questions you might have." Jamie looked at the flower in his hand. He turned and walked back toward the stairs, forcing himself not to look back at Nia. The girl was just a slip of a figure, but something about her vulnerability and quirkiness was endearing.

He shook his head. He couldn't be thinking about that, she didn't need that. She needed stability and safety.

He paused once he was outside of the Hermes cabin, looking around. Camp was bustling. Connor was organizing some sort of party for the week after next and the Athena and Ares cabins were recruiting cabins for capture the flag.

Mitchell gently punched Jamie's arm. "Dude, who was the girl?"

"Petunia Green. Nico thinks she's a daughter of Persephone. Trouble is brewing," Jamie told him and shrugged a little. "Lacey in your cabin?"

"Yeah, she's getting the stuff ready to redo my hair." He ran a hand through his blue hair. "My roots are starting to show."

"Yeah, my hair is getting a little out of hand. I'm starting to look like a girl." Jamie stretched. "How goes the romance search?"

Mitch shook his head. "I don't know. The attention is kind of cool, but it isn't making things easy. I just…" He glanced around. "I feel like I made a bigger mess than the one I started out with."

Jamie frowned a bit. "Meaning?"

"I don't know. It's even more confusing than before. If I were to ask someone about it, I'm pretty sure they'd say it's a sign that I'm not ready for it. But I'm a son of Aphrodite. How could I not be?" Mitch started walking toward the Aphrodite cabin and Jamie followed.

"That's like asking me why I don't know the secret to youth even though I'm a son of Hebe."

Mitch snorted. "Maybe there's a flower for that."

Jamie smiled. "Heard about that, did you?"

"Flowers in her shoelaces?"

"Anemones, and bellflowers. She gave me an aster." He spun the flower between his fingers like he had seen her do with the bellflowers.

Mitch shook his head. "Weird. Kayla said she seemed to be a little crazy."

"Kayla's crazy, dude. She's not exactly a reliable source for judging crazy." Jamie didn't like that Kayla was already telling people that the girl was crazy.

"True," Mitch confirmed.

Lacey looked up as they came in, she already had her hair-cutting station set up. "Which one is first?"

Mitch jabbed his thumb toward Jamie. "Him. He's just getting a cut."

She nodded and pointed to the chair. "It is pretty long for you."

"I'm starting to look like a girl."

"Something wrong with that?"

"For me, yes." Jamie sat and relaxed.

"He was telling me a bit about the new girl."

"Which one?"

"Petunia Green, she got here about half an hour ago," Jamie told her.

"What's she like?"

Jamie wasn't sure how to answer. "She's quirky. She's a plant person. Scared Nico, who thinks that she's a daughter of Persephone. Which is a truly terrifying prospect if Hades knows."

Lacey nodded. "I'll see if she needs clothes later. Did she have anything?"

"Not really. She had a mostly empty backpack. Ripped open by monsters. She had a sweatshirt, and a couple other things, but I don't really know. I wasn't paying attention to that." He almost winced as she started cutting his hair.

"How short do you want?"

"I don't know. Short?"

She laughed a little, and then kept cutting. "We'll have you human in just a bit. Mitch, can you get the razor, and put the guard on it?"

"Which one?"

"The purple one."

He started working on that. "I think Jamie might have a bit of a crush."

"Ooh, on the new girl? Or on Ria? I saw them talking on a few occasions."

Jamie rolled his eyes. "Stop it. Neither. I have no crush on anyone. I'm worried about Petunia. She seems…fragile. I have a bad feeling, and her arrival just seems to have made it grow."

Lacey leaned on his shoulder. "So you like me?"

He stopped himself before words came out.

She threw back her head and started laughing. "That's a no."

Rachel Dare poked her head in. "Jamie, you're needed in the Big House."

Lacey cleared her throat. "Five minutes."

"Make it two." Rachel disappeared.

Mitch handed the razor over to her. "Now would be a good time to start praying, Jamie."

Jamie wondered nervously what could possibly be going on that he was needed.


	13. Not Just Rainbows

**AN: As requested by Cynder2013, a demigod who fought on the side of the Titans, and a daughter of Iris! Thanks for the request. They always seem to have great stories! Let me know what you think!**

Sara flipped her hair and smiled at the jock. "Actually, I could use your help with something." She had seen enough to know that he had some godly blood in him somewhere, a descendant of Apollo, most likely, given his excellent aim and golden-blond hair, and blue eyes. They weren't the usual magnificent blue that the Apollo kids she had met had, but they were still pretty darn good. She appreciated color, as a daughter of Iris should.

The jock in question, a college student named Anthony, studied her a moment then set aside his book. "What?"

"Can't explain here, silly." Come on, fall for it. She had picked him because he always seemed willing to help people, so what was this hesitation she was seeing? Surely it wasn't her, she had studied his habits, the girls he checked out, the people he hung out with. She had to be smart, smart enough to avoid monsters and still stay under the radar so that she didn't receive further punishment for fighting on the side of the Titans.

He reluctantly got up, grabbing his phone and book. "Fine, as long as it doesn't take too long."

She found herself hesitating. "Hot date?"

He shook his head. "Work."

She smiled as sweetly as she knew how to and led the way out of the coffee shop and down the street. Now to feed him the story. "You see, I was at a party last night and I left some stuff at the place." Come on, work, mist, work.

He stopped dead in his tracks.

She turned, giving her best confused look. "What?"

He blinked at her. "Why do you need me?"

She winced a little. "The party was at the old hospital."

His gaze darkened. "No."

"But—"

"Cut your losses. Whatever you left there, forget it. You wouldn't find it even if you did go back. Everyone knows that." He turned on his heel and started walking away.

"But it was my mom's!" She grabbed his arm. Like it or not, she needed someone stronger than her to get through that place and retrieve the feathers. Maybe that would help her mother forgive her. It was close to the truth.

"Then I'm sorry, but it is what it is. If you have any common sense, you won't go there ever again. No. If you had common sense, you wouldn't have been there in the first place," He snapped. There was an unusual amount of hostility in his gaze as he looked at her. It definitely wasn't the Mist keeping him away like the other mortals. It wasn't fear, not exactly. It was more like dread, anger, frustration, and pain. So much pain that Sara could almost feel it herself.

Time to play dirty.

She drew her knife and had it at his throat in a couple seconds. "You're going with me, blondie. You just have to choose whether it's willingly or at knife-point."

He gazed steadily back at her, then looked toward the town. "I get off at six. Can't get in until the evening anyway." His voice was quiet. "You may have nothing to lose, but I have a lot. My family, my friends…why'd you have to pick me? If the police catch us, this will go on my record. My nice, spotless record."

"If it's so spotless, then how do you know that the hospital is so dangerous?"

He met her eyes again, and she could see the depths of his anger and pain. "Because someone I cared about went in there, and it wasn't the same person that came out. You better seriously consider if it's worth losing your mind or dying before you lead me to my death."

She moved the knife away from his throat. "Be ready to go when your shift ends." She had to get the feathers of Arke. She had to redeem herself, at the very least to her mother. She wasn't made to be on her own. She wasn't strong enough. After the war, she had relied on a couple of other demigods to help her, but they were slowly separated from each other or killed. She could still see the gore when Ares struck down his son that had been with them.

Yes. She had to go to that horrible place and retrieve those feathers at all costs, before she was next.

Anthony frowned down at her. "And if I'm not here?"

She looked up at him and arched an eyebrow. "Like you said, you have a lot to lose. I have nothing."

His jaw set. "You're threatening my family."

"I'm threatening everything you are and hold dear, I will hunt down every friend you had in High School if I have to."

His eyes narrowed and he looked furious. "I should be ready by six-thirty."

"Six fifteen." She turned and strode away, calling over her shoulder. "And bring a weapon." If she played it right, then he would take the brunt of it all and she could get through without a hitch, get the feathers, get out and prove to her mother that she was trying to earn her forgiveness. It had to work. It just had to.


	14. Children of Wisdom

**AN: Cynder2013- the last one was actually a little over 850 words. Intense, yes. Yes it is. Wonder what will happen...**

 **But on a different note!**

* * *

Annabeth frowned at the floor, trying to figure out what had caught her attention. Then she spotted the dark flecks of blood. She poked her head out of the Athena cabin bathroom and looked around. "Did someone cut themselves while shaving?"

"Why?" one of her sisters asked from behind the bunk. She must have been cleaning.

"There's blood on the floor." Annabeth frowned at it again.

"Well, I did, but it didn't bleed that much. And I kept it contained to the tub." Maggie's head appeared from under a pile of scrolls.

Joseph shook his head. "Wasn't me."

"Ooh, can I analyze it?" Mark's eyes lit up.

She hesitated.

"Mark, last time you analyzed blood you ended up making a poison out of it which we then took two weeks to figure out how to destroy," Malcolm snapped. "You're not allowed to 'analyze' anything anymore."

Mark pouted.

Annabeth was glad he had spoken up. She hadn't heard about that incident. She could see that Malcolm was making an excellent cabin leader.

He came over and glanced at the floor, then around the bathroom. "Is it fake blood? Alice and Julia have been trying to prank us all summer. And there was that day where everyone woke up from a trance and the whole camp was pranked."

She shuddered. "That was a mess." She got a couple drops of water onto it. The Stolls had made started making sure that fake blood could be distinguished from real blood by adding some extra orange dye to it all. Connor still did it incognito. "It isn't fake."

Malcolm nodded slowly.

"So either someone is bleeding and doesn't know it, or…" She shrugged trying to figure out an alternative. She looked up at Malcolm and realized his gaze kept flitting between the door and the sink.

She looked around, trying to think about it practically. "Or someone was cutting themselves and didn't realize it dripped." A sense of dread filled her. She'd never had to deal with something like that. She couldn't even imagine what would drive someone to that. Wasn't monsters trying to kill them hard enough without hurting themselves?

"Annabeth? Malcolm? Connor just told me that a cabin leader meeting is starting. Apparently it's serious." Katie was by the entrance to the cabin.

Annabeth stood up. "We'll have to deal with this later. Malcolm?"

He didn't move, he was staring at the mirror, almost looking angry.

"Malcolm, is everything okay?"

He finally looked at her.

She could see the pain and anger there, the sadness and fear.

"Yeah, everything is fine." He blinked and his face became stone.

She stared at his back as he walked past her. She hadn't seen that pained of a look from Malcolm, ever. Not even when his dad died. Had he and Cassie broken up?

She hurried after him. "If it's about someone hurting themselves—"

"It isn't. I told you. Everything is fine."

"Didn't look that way."

"Annabeth, why don't you stick with obsessing over your own life and I'll stick to taking care of our cabin, okay?" He snapped, stopping to glare at her, and the continuing on.

Katie pretended nothing was going on, but her lips were pressed tightly together.

Annabeth shivered a little. "Malcolm?" Luke flashed through her mind.

He ignored her.

She looked at Katie. "Did I do something and miss it?"

Katie hesitated. "You haven't been around, maybe he feels like you're stepping on his toes or something?"

Annabeth shook her head. "I don't know. Maybe. I haven't seen that much anger in a while. Not since Luke."

Katie shook her head. "Malcolm is not Luke. He and Will talk a lot, and he's dating that new girl, Cassie. He's happy around her. So…he isn't Luke."

"Then what in Hades is wrong with him?"

Katie was about to answer when she noticed that the group that had been to New Rome was returning. "Whatever it is, maybe his girlfriend will help."

Malcolm was already jogging to meet them, and wrapped his arms tightly around one of the figures.

"He found her." Annabeth walked up slowly. She didn't want to make Malcolm angrier, but she also didn't think she should let it go just yet.

Cassie waved to her, looking a little amused. "Malcolm. You have to let go."

He said something Annabeth didn't hear.

Cassie's smile faded and she looked up at him, her eyes flashing with something like anger and sadness. "We'll talk about it later."

He nodded and pulled away.

Annabeth hated that she didn't know what had just passed between the two. Could it really be that difficult to figure out? I mean, there were only so many things that Cassie could be upset about like that that wouldn't cause her to break up with Malcolm. Maybe it had something to do with their trip earlier this summer. A nagging doubt formed in her mind as she considered that maybe there was something about Malcolm that she didn't know that could be potentially dangerous. Ever since his dad had died he had pulled away a bit, gotten quieter. They no longer talked about their lives, and it didn't help that she was in California for most of the time. It was natural that something might have come up that she didn't know…right?

But then again, Cassie and Malcolm had only been dating for a short while. It was impossible for Cassie to already know everything about Malcolm.

"Annabeth?" Cassie nudged her. "Shouldn't you get to the meeting?"

Annabeth flinched, then studied the daughter of Hermes critically. Disarmingly kind slate-blue eyes, brown hair that was slightly wavy, and concern written clearly on her face, Cassie looked back at Annabeth then sighed and looked after Malcolm.

"He's not as strong as he seems," Cassie said in a soft voice. "He does his best, though."

Annabeth felt a wave of cold dread wash over her. "What do you mean?"

Cassie had a look of carefulness about her as she seemed to consider her words. "I mean, pressing the matter won't get you any further. I mean that he has people watching out for needs support sometimes." She smiled gently. "You find it in Percy, and have for quite a few has his own support taught him how to lead the cabin, so that's what he does."

Annabeth stared. "What?"

Cassie blinked quickly then shook her head. "Nothing. You should get to the meeting. They're probably waiting for you." She turned to leave.

Annabeth caught the girl's weaker arm, feeling a little bad but knowing it was the easiest way to stop her. "You're telling me it was him."

Cassie looked mildly confused. "I'm telling you to trust him a little more. I could see that you were struggling and from his mood it was obvious you two had some sort of fight. I'm not sure what you think he did, though."

Annabeth had assumed that Cassie knew what had been going on from the way she spoke and acted. The generally mild-mannered girl was good with words though, and as a daughter of Hermes, she could probably lie her way out of many a sticky situation. "Unexplained blood on the bathroom floor, not fake."

Cassie made a thoughtful sound and looked toward the cabins, eyes narrowed. "Unexplained. Yeah. Sure. I have to go check in. Good luck." Her gaze met Annabeths for a brief second, flashing protectively, secretively, then she casually left.

Annabeth started up the steps to the big house. He's not as strong as he seems…

Malcolm was seated between Will and Connor.

Will seemed to be whispering in a slightly scolding manner.

Malcolm glanced over when she came in, but then went back to shrugging off Will.

She took her seat beside Percy, finally managing to catch Malcolm's gaze for a moment.

He gazed back at her steadily, then tilted his head ever so slightly. Their silent way of acknowledging that the other might be correct, or sometimes saying there was no more reason to fight.

"Hey, you okay?" Percy asked, smiling and taking her hand.

Annabeth nodded and managed a small smile back. "Yeah, just processing something I learned earlier."


	15. Happy

**AN: *Throws Confetti* Here, have some Solangelo!**

Nico smiled, allowing Will to coax him into relaxing a bit. Let his guard down and rest his head on his boyfriend's arm.

Will grinned at him. "I can't believe you actually did it. I was expecting you to fight me. But you're even smiling."

"We're not going to be together in the fall, right? And when it's just us…" Nico shrugged, feeling a burning sensation on his face and ears.

Will's eyes were intense while his smile was gentle. "We'll be fine. You and Cassie will be goofing around and I'll be studying myself blind. We're spending the holidays together, right?"

"Of course, Cassie's not cruel. Not to mention I can still shadow travel."

Will hummed in a slightly grumpy tone. "But you're not going to overdo it."

"Nah," Nico stretched and sat up a bit more, still feeling Will's gaze on him. "You done staring yet? What's so fascinating?"

"I was comparing two years ago you to today you." Will's voice was gentle, loving, and it made Nico's heart hammer against his ribcage.

"Y-yeah? And?"

"You've relaxed, even since last year. Even since earlier this year. I mean, you let me kiss you in public and everything this morning. What's up with that?" Will asked, a happy grin on his face.

Nico rolled his eyes. "You're seeing things."

Will caught the collar of Nico's shirt and pulled him into a firm kiss.

When it ended, Nico stared breathlessly at the blond.

Will grinned. "Yeah, you've relaxed." He got up and started walking.

Nico felt his breath catch, and he hurried to catch up. "Have not."

"And pigs can't fly."

"Isn't the saying 'when pigs fly'?"

"Titan war, flying pig, got killed by a combination of Percy and a giant Hermes automaton. You were still convincing your father to join at that point I believe." Will shrugged it off, continuing to walk with long strides, his couple inches on Nico allowing him to pull ahead.

Nico jogged a bit to catch up. "Why are you in such a hurry?"

"My shift in the infirmary begins any second now and we're at least a six minute jog from the big house. I got distracted." Will flashed him a grin.

Nico froze, staring after Will. He was unexpectedly pleased that he was the reason that the normally prompt Will Solace was late. Normally, Will pulled himself away in time to get to the infirmary early. What was different today?

Will glanced back with a bemused expression. "You coming? Or will I see you later?"

Nico grinned and ran to catch up, taking his boyfriends hand. "Only for today."

Will nodded. "Sure."

Nico couldn't stop smiling. How long had it been since he'd felt that happy? And over something as ridiculous as Will getting distracted by him. They hadn't even been doing anything particularly special until that kiss right at the end. They were just hanging out. "Why'd you kiss me?"

Will let go of Nico's hand, and put his arm around his shoulders. "Because you looked so happy. I wanted to be part of what was making you happy. You don't mind, do you?"

Nico fought back against the urge to grin even more. "Will, you're ninety percent of the reason I am happy."

It was Will's turn to freeze in place as Nico continued walking. Nico knew that later he would be back to teasing and not being completely honest, but right now…

Will caught his arm, and before Nico could even think, had slid his arms around him and was kissing him again.

Yeah.

That was a summer memory he wanted to keep forever.


	16. Fairy Godmother

"Chiron gave the okay. Year rounders don't really get to dress up that much, and it is summer. This is the first summer in a while where we haven't had any threats looming over our heads. It's only right that we celebrate." Connor made a slightly disgusted face at a tie and tossed it aside. "Girls in dresses, guys. Girls in dresses. With their hair and makeup done. Nico, Will in a suit. Dressed up specifically for you. Piper, your cabin is happy, surely?"

She shook her head a bit. "Ecstatic. But that doesn't explain why you're already dressed up. The party is tonight after all."

Connor just smirked. "I won't have time to change later. I have to make sure everything gets set up. It was one of the clauses."

"Piper, I was counting on you to point out his comment about girls," Chiara muttered.

"Oh, you mean the fact that everything is going to be lit up by the lava from the broken rock wall casting, essentially fire-light which is the most flattering light for pretty much everyone? Oh, or the fact that I convinced the guys in camp to dress up? Give me a break, at least I'm honest about what I'm looking forward to." Connor rolled his eyes and ran a hand through his hair. "I look ridiculous."

Nico started laughing quietly.

Annabeth shook her head and came over. "You look fine. You seem…extra excited. What are you up to?"

He stared blankly at her. "I'm planning a party for all of camp, what am I not up to?"

She folded her arms.

Will walked in looking somewhat distracted, then his gaze fixed on Connor. "Not bad." He sat next to Nico who was now bolt upright, rigid and glaring.

"Not…bad?" Nico asked.

"For Connor, not bad. Didn't think he'd clean up so well. Sherman, try to make sure your siblings don't cause any fights tonight. I don't want to be woken up in the middle of the night to sew anyone back together."

Nico glared at the table.

"Why are you dressed up, anyway?" Will asked, looking confused.

Connor gave him a disappointed look. "The party. By the rock wall. Everyone's getting dressed up for it. I'm getting ready early so I can focus on getting all the last minute stuff together. You're dressing up too."

Will winced. "With what clothing?"

Connor stared, his usual mischeivous look completely absent. "Oh you've got to be kidding me. You had over a month to prepare for this damn party! Even Percy has dress clothes! Come on." Connor grabbed Will's wrist and yanked him up and toward the door. "Nico, I'm making sure he's dressed up for you. Don't freak out."

Nico's eyes widened, but then he smiled a little. "Connor takes parties really seriously."

Clovis, who had been awake the whole time—surprisingly—muttered, "Yeah, here's hoping you have dress clothes too, di Angelo."

Nico's smile faded. "Crap."

Malcolm started laughing. "Better run to your fairy godmother."

"I don't have one!" Nico sounded suprisingly sincere, like he hadn't actually registered what was said.

"Cassie, he means Cassie. She had a bunch of dress clothes for everyone. That's the only reason I have anything." Sherman pushed Nico towards the door. "Oh, and you should probably hurry."

Nico bolted, racing across the fields toward the Hermes cabin, passing by Will and Connor, who seemed a little confused by his rush. He darted up the stairs to the girl's part of the Hermes' cabin and banged on the door.

"Everyone's decent!"

Nico cautiously entered. "Um…"

"Hey Nico," Cassie said cheerfully, smiling at him. "What's up?"

"I forgot to get dress clothes for tonight."

She laughed. "Good thing I set some aside for you, then."

"You knew…"

"I hinted at it the other day and you were clueless. I'm sure Will was as well. Oblivious, both of you." She pulled out a box from under her bed and pointed toward the bathroom. "Try it on."

He took the box, looking sheepish. "How many people have you played fairy godmother to already?"

"I lost count after the Nemesis and Ares cabins. Go try it on."

Sometimes he was convinced that Cassie had the powers of a goddess, because the pants and shirt fit him just about perfectly from what he could tell. And the dark blue shirt actually looked nice on him. "Will I pass inspection?" He asked, stepping out of the bathroom.

She looked over from her notebook and smiled. "Yeah, after we do something with that hair."

"What's wrong with my hair?"

"Aside from being a year overdo for a cut?" She asked lightly, taking a hairbrush to it and pulling it out of his face. It felt weird.

"What are you doing?" He grumbled.

She stepped back and looked at him, nodding. "Yeah, you can rock it. Nice to see your face too."

"Y-you pulled my hair back into…"

"A ponytail. Don't worry. You're one of the lucky guys who can rock it."

"It feels weird."

"Remember you're doing this for Will."

"You think he'll like it?"

"He can see your face, you're dressed up for him, you put some effort into your appearance, I think even Will will understand the sentiment behind that." She folded her arms.

"What are you wearing?"

"A dress," She responded vaguely, grinning at him. "But it's still a little early to get ready. Then again, I'll be making sure Julia and Alice let Petunia and the others get ready. Okay, hang on." She pulled a dress out of her trunk and went into the bathroom.

Nico sat on her bunk, moving her notebook. He was tempted to read it, but he didn't. If it was something he could read, she would let him know.

She came out in her dress. "What do you think?"

Nico examined her in the dress, knowing that she still had to do her hair and makeup. "Well, you look the part of fairy godmother and Cinderella, so, good job."

"How about fairy godsister?"

"Does that make me fairy godbrother?"

"I think so."

"Okay, but your fairy godbrother mostly helps by summoning dead people."

"Could be worse."

He hated to think of what might be worse.


	17. Lava Light

Jamie looked around nervously but still didn't see her. "She came, right?" He asked himself, running a hand nervously through his hair.

"You look nervous, not a party person?"

He jumped and turned toward her soft voice, relaxing a bit and letting out a nervous laugh. "No, I'm okay with parties."

Petunia just nodded a little and turned to watch everyone. "They all seem pretty excited. I guess I'm not used to being around this many people, or maybe this is a rare occasion here at camp?"

He nodded. "Yeah, um, we don't really get to dress up in anything other than swimsuits or armor."

"Ah," She whispered. She had flowers braided into her hair, which was pulled up with only a few loose strands brushing her shoulders and framing her face. Her dress made her look even smaller.

He felt like a strong breeze might break her. "How's life in the Hermes cabin?"

She had a hint of a smile. "Weird."

He was scrambling to find something to say and was about to ask what kind of flowers she had in her hair, just to hear her talk for a bit, when she turned to him.

"So, who were you looking for? I could help you find her." She had a kind look on her face, even if she still didn't smile.

He wanted to be the one to make her smile again, but he was taken aback at her offering to help him find…her.

She nodded after a moment and looked back over the party. "Right. Mind my own business."

"Uh, no…I…" He was failing. He was failing miserably. "I was looking for…"

She looked at him, innocently.

"Well, you. I didn't want you to be alone." He vowed to punch himself multiple times for adding the last part.

"Oh, that's very kind of you." She gave him that look that was almost a smile but not quite, then continued watching the party.

He mocked himself in his head and glared accusingly at his hands. "So, what kinds of flowers are the ones in your hair?"

"Lily-of-the-valley," She almost whispered.

He waited a moment. "What do they mean?"

"Depends on who you consult, but I always like the meaning 'return of happiness'. I guess…I'm just trying."

"Trying…?"

She nodded as if that was the answer.

Return of happiness…he wanted to facilitate that. And not just because Chiron had assigned him to protect her. He wanted to be the one who finally made her smile again.

The upbeat song that had been playing ended and Stacy Krivkov from the Apollo cabin came over the speakers. "Next song is a slow dance. Find your special someone."

Shoot. Why'd she have to add the last part? Now it would be awkward if he asked her to dance.

Nia glanced at him. "Well that makes things awkward for those who don't have someone special. How are friends supposed to dance together now? Or what if siblings wanted to just dance together? Awkward."

He smiled, laughing a bit. "Come on. Let's dance."

"What?" She looked surprised. "But…"

"Come on, you're not going to leave me hanging, are you?" He teased gently. "You should be dancing. So dance with me."

She slowly nodded, and took his hand.

He could just barely make out a blush on her cheeks in the glow of the lava light. He pulled her a little closer than would probably be normal for friends. If anyone wondered though, he could just say it was because she was so small. So small and holdable.

And in the fire-like light, she was probably the most beautiful girl he had ever laid eyes on.

Now if he could just pull out that elusive smile of hers…


	18. Sparks

Connor was making sure everything was just right, the drinks were still doing fine, the plates of food were still pretty full, and everyone was slow dancing, looking pretty happy. He could see Will and Nico dancing awkwardly, talking more than actually dancing because they were both embarrassed. Percy and Annabeth were in their own world, as usual. Cassie and Malcolm were dancing too. Alice was dancing as well, which was a surprise to Connor, especially when he saw that she was dancing with Ethan from the Tyche cabin.

A successful party.

He grinned and popped a grape into his mouth.

"Not dancing?"

He almost choked, but managed to swallow. "Um, yeah, no. I missed the beginning of the song. If I asked someone to dance now, we'd get a minute together and then…" He shrugged and glanced at Katie.

She looked good. Really good. "So why bother?" She folded her arms.

"No, that's not exactly what I'm saying." He shrugged. "I have the order of the playlist memorized. If I wait another four songs, then a better song will come up that I would want to dance to."

She looked a little surprised, but she smiled a little. "Worth the wait?"

"I think so, but I suppose it's all a matter of opinion."

She glanced up at him, then put a hand to his forehead. "Are you sick? You're being sincere."

He gently swatted her hand away. "No, I'm explaining why I didn't ask you to dance. I should check on the fireworks." He calmly walked away, despite the racing of his heart. He really said that, right?

"Not funny, Stoll!"

"Not joking, Gardner!" He kept walking, his heart in his throat and his stomach flip-flopping as he waited for her to respond.

Nothing for a second..

Then, "Don't you dare be late." It was softer than when she has responded with their usual banter.

He fought a grin, heading over to where the fireworks were set up for the show later tonight.

Nissa was guarding them, talking with one of the guys from the Ares cabin.

"Better not interrupt," He murmured to himself, then glanced toward the party. The slow song had ended. He contemplated what to do now, since the food and drinks were still holding up well and the music was all set up. He wasn't like the Aphrodite kids, wanting to set people up, or like the Apollo kids, dancing until their feet fell off.

He sort of slid back to the sidelines of the dance, surrounded by people and yet…completely alone. Katie was dancing with some of her siblings. His siblings were dancing with other people. Couples were everywhere.

One unassuming couple caught his eye. Jamie and Petunia. He knew they weren't 'together' and that they were still just getting to know each other. They were friends, not a couple. He also knew that Petunia was extremely reserved, frightened, and quite possibly depressed. He was worried about her, but she seemed comfortable after the first week and a half here. She wasn't expressive, and he had never seen her smile. Not even a hint of one.

She was a serious rival to Nico, who was notorious for being moody and grumpy.

Not that he held a candle to her straight-faced composure, not anymore.

Actually…

Connor glanced over at them, smiling a little. He had been worried about Nico, that first winter that Nico had come to camp. Disappearing after learning about his sister's death…and at a time when disappearing was generally equated to betrayal…then when he did come back being so…gloomy. Connor knew he wouldn't be able to reach Nico no matter what. Nico had made that plenty clear before. Maybe Connor should have tried to reach out, but it was probably for the best that he hadn't. Nico was happy now. It had all worked out.

Maybe that's what would happen for Petunia. Maybe it would all work out.

He looked over watching Jamie sort of coax some sort of conversation out of her and then run with it was she responded mutedly.

Then Jamie said something.

Petunia's head tilted back slightly and she laughed.

The ground erupted in delicate white flowers, spreading as far as Connor could see, around campers' feet, over to the rock wall and around it, spreading toward the cabin like a wave.

The power in that seemed to strike everyone, and they looked toward the Demeter kids for an explanation, and toward Connor to see if this was part of the plan.

Nico's smile had died, and he looked like he had all the blood drained from him. "Di immortales…"

Everyone else just sort of shrugged it when Katie faked a smirk and a shrug.

Jamie was staring at the flowers, the smile on his face growing bigger and bigger, oblivious to the obvious terror Nico was feeling.

Petunia was blushing, but she bent at the knee to pick some of the flowers.

Connor slid closer.

"Lily-of-the-valley, right?" Jamie said softly, his voice gentle.

Connor felt like he was intruding, more so than usual.

She nodded.

"So…I guess your happiness really is returning…" Jamie rubbed his neck.

She became a bit more red in the cheeks.

Geez oh pete, just kiss. Connor tried to keep himself from looking like he was listening to their conversation. Something caught his eye, or rather, someone caught his attention as they walked slowly their way.

Nico grabbed Connor's arm. "Get Petunia out of here. I'll talk to my dad."

Connor looked over, his mind screaming because this was the last song before the one he wanted to dance to with Katie.

But there she was. "Follow me," She muttered.

"Jamie, Nia," He hissed toward the two. "Less flowers, more escaping."

Petunia looked up sharply, completely somber and terrified again, and quickly moved toward them.

Jamie's face hardened into a protective loook and he quickly brought up the rear of the group.

"If anyone asks, we're running an errand for a surprise later tonight." Connor cracked his knuckles. "Actually, better just leave the lying to me."

"No, me. They'll believe it more," Katie argued in an unusually soft voice.

He glanced at her, then nodded. "Right. Jamie?"

"Gonna tell me why we're…running this errand?"

"Nico's dad decided to visit."

"Couldn't he at least wait until Halloween?" Jamie muttered darkly, grabbing Petunia's hand. "Stay by my side, no matter what happens."

She just nodded a little, glancing at Connor.

Connor just nodded slightly. "Katie?"

"I just need to grab something from the cabin, then I need you to do your…magic trick."

He felt a chill go up his spine. "I've never done it with this many people before."

She watched him a bit as they continued toward her cabin. "Can you still carry other's burdens?"

His eyes widened and he glanced at her, trying to figure out how she knew about that.

"Good, then you can carry some of my strength and energy."

"That's different than sadness, or pain, or anger…" Connor worried.

She shrugged. "Then steal my strength and energy. We need to get to New Rome. And you're our only shot."

He wished he could steal something a lot easier. Like a damn kiss.

Oh to live a simple life.


	19. Quest

Ria frowned at the group that had appeared in the middle of their war games. She had been in the middle of helping her cohort dominate in battle when they sort of stumbled into existence in front of her, and Connor Stoll stumbled and collapsed on the ground. She had had to protect him from her own cohort.

Now they were gathered in the courtyard, talking in a way that must have been aimed to look completely casual.

Ria could see how tense Jamie was. She was used to seeing him completely relaxed, even as he fought. He was one of the demigods that she found challenging in the ring because he was so effortlessly good at fighting. A natural. She had seen him getting one-on-one lessons with Percy—who was well-known as the best sword fighter in Camp Half-blood.

Connor looked half-dead, slowly sipping water from the bottle that Katie had handed him. They had only managed to wake him about five minutes ago, after he'd been out for about twenty minutes. If transporting people did this to him, there must have been an insanely good reason for him to do so.

Katie Gardner stood beside Connor, and watching him with worry. That was new. Normally they couldn't even stand within ten feet of each other, but today she was checking on him and even smoothed his hair a bit.

Ria wasn't sure who the other girl was, but she could read the fear that the girl was trying to hold back. She looked like a good breeze would knock her over and shatter her. Not impressive at all.

Andy walked over. "Any idea?"

She shrugged. "Something happened. Had to have been bad for Connor to bring them, especially given how he collapsed. That small girl is petrified and trying not to be. Jamie is tense, which is strange given how relaxed he normally is. It takes something big to get him nervous. At least, that's what I would assume. Katie's worried, and using Connor as an outlet. Reyna and Frank seem to be absorbing whatever it was that they were told."

Andy sat beside her. "Assumptions?"

"The girl, she's the cause for the trouble. Unclaimed, most likely, which is why Connor is taking an interest in her. Katie got caught in the crossfire which is why she's here. Jamie…maybe they grabbed him for some more man-power?" Ria frowned.

Andy was quiet.

"What's wrong?" Ria asked.

"Shelly," He said. He didn't need to say more.

Ever since the last group from Camp Half Blood had left, Shelly had been a serious problem. She'd become more irritable, and defensive. Mopey. And she was taking out all of her frustrations and emotions on the guys, especially Andy.

He'd taken to avoiding her, just to be safe.

Jade attempted to run interference, but there really wasn't anything they had found that helped.

"Dagris, if you're done eavesdropping with Gallus, would you care to join the conversation?" Reyna's voice cut through the distance in a partially scolding tone.

Ria felt her eyes widen slightly. Why would they want her? She was technically still on probatio. Maybe it was because she knew Connor, Katie, and Jamie.

Andy's eyes widened slightly and nodded toward the group. "Better get over there."

Ria nodded and headed over to the group.

"You too, Gallus."

Ria glanced back at Andy, worried. It couldn't be good…or maybe it was good that they were being included. Maybe it wasn't as bad as she had assumed.

From closer, Ria could see that this girl was actually around fifteen. Maybe even a little older. She was just so small and frail that she looked like a twelve-year-old.

Pathetic.

Jamie had finally cut his hair, so he wouldn't have to take time to push it out of his face, which would make him even more efficient on the battlefield. He glanced at Ria, then went back to subtly scanning their surroundings.

But she just realized something else.

They were all dressed up…suits and dresses dressed up. Katie and the other girl both had flowers in their hair and were wearing makeup and nicer shoes than the normal footwear used at camp. Connor probably would have looked more dapper if he hadn't ripped a hole in the knee of his pants and his hair wasn't all over the place. Jamie looked like he had just casually walked here in a three-piece suit.

That's when she knew that it was really bad.

"What's up?" She asked hesitantly.

"This is Petunia," Katie introduced the other girl. "She's a daughter of Persephone."

Oh.

Oh damn.

Andy let out a nervous laugh. "This is going to be really bad, isn't it?"

Connor inhaled sharply. "It's about to get worse."

Ria followed his gaze and saw Rachel, the oracle of delphi, was walking slowly toward them with green smoke billowing out of her mouth.

That was how their quest started.

 **AN: So...you're probably thinking "What the heck? These aren't one-shots!" and you're right, which is why the parts posted here that go together-the ones with Ria, Petunia, Jamie, and Andy-are all going to be edited and become part of their own story, Asters and Warhammers. There's going to be stuff added to the parts here, since I was trying to keep these under/around a thousand words and chapters for my stories tend to be well over a thousand. Because of this...movement...I really do need some prompts or characters for this one. Sure, I can come up with my own, but it's fun to hear what y'all want! Drop me a line in the reviews, or send me a private message! As always, Thanks for reading!**


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